Stochastic rules for predator and prey hunting and escape behavior in a lattice-based model

Understanding of ecosystem resilience and stability requires comprehending predator- prey dynamics because ecosystems consist of dynamically interacting subsystems that include predator-prey relationships. This relationship is closely related to the hunting- escaping strategies employed by the predator and prey. Therefore, understanding the effects of hunting and escaping strategies on ecosystems will lead to a better under- standing of these systems. As an approach for describing the predator-prey interaction, lattice-based models have been adopted because this approach has strong advantages for simulating various dynamical processes of individual-individual interaction. In the models, each lattice cell is either considered as an attractive/repulsive cell, or an indi- vidual cell, or else it is empty. The attractive （or repulsive cell） can be interpreted as the prey （or predator） of the individual. These states allow us to incorporate the ecological processes of local antagonistic interactions, namely the spread of disturbances （by the predator） and regrowth or recovery （by the prey）. These processes are directly related to the strategic behavior of individuals, such as hunting and escaping. In this study, we suggest a simple and effective mapping formula as a stochastic rule to describe the hunt- ing and escaping behavior. This formula could be widely used not only in the behavior but also in competitive and cooperative relationships.

Empirical studies of escape behavior find mixed support for the race for life model

Escape theory has been exceptionally successful in conceptualizing and accurately predicting effects of numerous factors that affect predation risk and explaining variation in flight initiation distance(FID;predator–prey distance when escape begins).Less explored is the relative orientation of an approaching predator,prey,and its eventual refuge.The relationship between an approaching threat and its refuge can be expressed as an angle we call the“interpath angle”or“Φ,”which describes the angle between the paths of predator and prey to the prey’s refuge and thus expresses the degree to which prey must run toward an approaching predator.In general,we might expect that prey would escape at greater distances if they must flee toward a predator to reach its burrow.The“race for life”model makes formal predictions about howΦshould affect FID.We evaluated the model by studying escape decisions in yellow-bellied marmots Marmota flaviventer,a species which flees to burrows.We found support for some of the model’s predictions,yet the relationship betweenΦand FID was less clear.Marmots may not assessΦin a continuous fashion;but we found that binning angle into 445°bins explained a similar amount of variation as models that analyzed angle continuously.Future studies ofΦ,especially those that focus on how different species perceive relative orientation,will likely enhance our understanding of its importance in flight decisions.

Urban invaders are not bold risk-takers: a study of 3 invasive lizards in Southern California

Biological invasions threaten biodiversity worldwide,and therefore,understanding the traits of successful invaders could mitigate their spread.Many comm only invasive species do well in disturbed habitats,such as urban environments,and their abilities to effectively respond to disturbarices could con tribute to their invasiveness.Yet,there are non invasive species that also do well in disturbed habitats.The question remains whether urban invaders behave differently in urban environments than noninvaders,which could suggest an"urban-exploiting"phenotype.In Southern California,the co-occurrence of in vasive Italia n wall lizards Pod arc is siculus,brown anoles Anolis sagrei,and green anoles A.carolinensis,and native western fence lizards Sceloporus occidentalis offers an opportunity to test whether invasives exhibit consistent differences in risk-taking within human-altered habitats compared with a native species.We predicted that invasive lizards would exhibit more bold behavior by having shorter flight-initiation distances(FIDs)and by being found farther from a refuge(behaviors that would presumably maximize foraging in low-risk environments).Invasive populations had similar or longer FIDs,but were consistently found at distances closer to a refuge.Collectively,invasive lizards in urban habitats were not bolder than a native species.Relianee on nearby refuges might help species successfully invade urban habitats,and if a general pattern,may pose an added challenge in detecting or eliminating them.

Personality of hosts and their brood parasites

Brood parasites such as the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus exploit the parental abilities of their hosts,hosts avoid brood parasitism and predation by showing specific behavior such as loss of feathers,emission of fear screams and contact calls,displaying wriggle behavior to avoid hosts or potential prey,pecking at hosts and prey,and expressing tonic immobility(showing behavior like feigning death or rapid escape from predators and brood parasites).These aspects of escape behavior are consistent for individuals but also among sites,seasons,and years.Escape behavior expressed in response to a broad range of cuckoo hosts and prey are consistently used against capture by humans,but also hosts and brood parasites and predators and their prey.An interspecific comparative phylogenetic analysis of escape behavior by hosts and their brood parasites and prey and their predators revealed evidence of consistent behavior when encountering potential parasites or predators.We hypothesize that personality axes such as those ranging from fearfulness to being bold,and from neophobic to curiosity response in brood parasites constitute important components of defense against brood parasitism that reduces the overall risk of parasitism.

Predator-prey distance and latency to flee from an immobile predator： functional relationship and importance

When an immobile prey has detected an immobile predator nearby, predation risk is greater when the predator is closer. Consequently, prey flee with shorter latency as standing distance （predator-prey distance when both are still） decreases. Since it was first reported in 2009, this relationship has been confirmed in the few species studied. However, little is known about the functional relationship between standing distance and latency to flee （LF）. We hypothesized that LF increases as standing distance increases at short distances, but reaches a plateau at longer distances where prey can escape reliably if attacked. We simulated immobile predators by moving slowly into positions near striped plateau lizards Sceloporus virgatus, stopping and then remaining immobile, and recording LF from the stopping time. LF increased from shorter to longer standing distances in a decelerating manner. The relationship was concave downward, and LF was indistinguishable among the longer standing distance groups. Latency to flee appears to reach a plateau or approach an asymptotic value as stand- ing distance increases. The effect size of standing distance was large, indicating that S. virgatus sensi- tively adjusts LF to the level of risk associated with standing distance. Relationships between risk assessment and theoretical zones associated with risk, its assessment by prey, and escape decisions are discussed. Effect sizes of standing distance were substantial to large in all studies to date, indicating that standing distance is an important predation risk factor when both predator and prey are immobile.

Turning in mid-air allows aphids that flee the plant to avoid reaching the risky ground

When forced to drop from the plant,flightless arboreal insects can avoid reaching the risky ground by maneuvering their body through the air.When wingless pea aphids(Acyrthosiphon pisum)are threatened by natural enemies,they often drop off their host plant while assuming a stereotypic posture that rotates them in mid-air,aligning them with their feet pointing downwards.This position may increase their chances of re-clinging onto lower plant parts and avoid facing the dangers on the ground,although its effectiveness in realistic field conditions has not been tested.We performed both laboratory and outdoor experiments,in which we dropped aphids upon host plants to quantify clinging success in plants with different characteristics such as height and leaf size.Live aphids had twofold higher clinging rates than dead ones,indicating that clinging success is indeed affected by the active aerial-righting of dropping aphids.The ability to cling was positively dependent on the plants’foliage cover as viewed in vertical direction from above.Therefore,we released aphids in commercial alfalfa(Medicago sativa)fields with varying plant heights and foliage cover and induced them to drop.Most(up to 75%)of the aphids avoided reaching the ground in taller plants(65 cm),and 17%in shorter plants(21 cm),demonstrating the efficiency of the aphids’response in averting risks:both those of an approaching enemy on the plant and the plethora of new risks on the ground.Evidently,even in complex field environment,the aerial-righting mechanism can substantially reduce the possible risks following escape from a predator.